Friday 16 March 2001 12.01 EST
First published on Friday 16 March 2001 12.01 EST

An intellectual pillow fight between Conrad Black and a clutch of distinguished writers from his prestigious publications has exploded into a titanic battle of egos. After accusing the Spectator columnist Taki Theodoracopoulos of anti-semitism for criticising Israel's role in the Middle East conflict, the press baron is in the dock himself - accused of stifling reasoned debate.

Three prominent writers - all of them past contributors to Mr Black's Telegraph group - have signed a letter to the Spectator accusing him of abusing his responsibilities as a proprietor. Such is the vehemence with which Mr Black has expounded his pro-Israel views, they say, no editor or reporter would dare write frankly about the Palestinian perspective.

"Readers have been warned. There may be many good things in Black's newspapers, but for balanced reporting from the Middle East, they must now, sadly, turn elsewhere."

With characteristic bombast, Black dismisses them as "whingers and simperers", arguing that he has just as much right as the next man to write to his own publications and insisting that his editors are free to print a range of opinions without proprietorial interference.

Caught in the middle is the Spectator editor, Boris Johnson, fielding at once the ire of his boss and the irritation of his contributors.

The anger of pro-Palestinian writers was provoked last November when the commentator Barbara Amiel, wife of Mr Black, wrote in a 5,300-word article in the Daily Telegraph that, despite Palestinian claims to the contrary, no serious attacks on Islamic holy sites would ever be tolerated by the Israelis.

Taki later incensed Mr Black in a Spectator column when he said that the US had intended to force down the aeroplane of the fugitive financier Marc Rich. He said that Rich only escaped because he was tipped off by the Israeli secret service Mossad - a payback for the "moola" that Rich had given Israel. (In an unfortunate passage, Taki labelled himself an anti-Semite by confusing the term "soi disant" - thinking it meant "so-called" when in fact it translates as "self-styled".)

For Mr Black, Taki's claims about Rich were "lies worthy of Goebbels". In a trenchant piece the following week, he said Taki's piece was unworthy of the Spectator and went on to lambast sections of the media- including the BBC, the Indepen dent and the Guardian - for allegedly being biased in favour of the Palestinians.

A boisterous correspondence ensued in the letters pages of the Spectator: this week, Mr Black returned to print with another scathing attack on his critics. "Fair comment and non-venomous ethnic reflections that might offend the politically correct are perfectly acceptable from contributors. However, our publications will not be used for incitements to racial or religious bigotry," he thundered.

In the same issue, three prominent writers took issue with Mr Black's line. His original article would scare his editors from printing opposing views, argued William Dalrymple, Piers Paul Read and AN Wilson. "It makes explicit what has long been apparent to those of us who have written about the Middle East in the Spectator: that under Black's proprietorship, serious, critical reporting of Israel is no longer tolerated in the Telegraph Group, however much Arab land Israel seizes, however many settlements it constructs in violation of international law and the Geneva conventions, however many Palestinians it expels or tortures and however many unarmed children it shoots."

Mr Black dismissed the charges as "complete nonsense". He said: "I'm happy to exchange fire with these people, but when I score a series of direct hits on them, I don't see why they should whinge and simper that I don't have the right to write to my own publications."

He said that while he might exchange views with his editors, they were free to publish articles expressing views that opposed his own, so long as they were clearly labelled as comment. "The allegation that I bully and intimidate our editors is nonsense," he said.

Mr Johnson was equally scathing, claiming that the writers wanted to withdraw their letter when it emerged that they had praised the independence of a Jerusalem-based publication without realising it was now controlled by Mr Black. "It's all very well them casting aspersions, but if they are going to get their facts wrong, they had better get up earlier in the morning," he said.

The three writers claim Mr Johnson and Mr Black colluded to retain the inaccuracy, thereby giving the proprietor more ammunition with which to attack them. Mr Johnson said: "It must be the first time in history that people are complaining that we ran their letter."

Who's who in The Spectator spat

Conrad Black Age 56. Canadian publisher. Chairman of Hollinger, owner of the Telegraph group. Military historian. Has passionate and strongly-held views on the Middle East conflict. Former Tory minister Lord Gilmour accused him of dispensing "virulent Israeli propaganda"; Black retorted that Gilmour was "an almost pathological Americanophobic myth-maker".

Boris Johnson Age 36. Young fogey editor of the Spectator and regular on the punditry circuit - currently seen sparring on BBC News 24 with the Guardian's Polly Toynbee. Selected as Tory candidate for Michael Heseltine's seat, Henley, for the next election. Speculation continues about whether he will continue a role at the magazine if he is elected.

AN Wilson Age 50. Full name Andrew Wilson. Former literary editor at the Spectator. Now writes column for the Evening Standard, edited by former Daily Telegraph editor Max Hastings. Revealed recently that Field Marshall Montgomery, on a visit to Rugby school, had "allowed his fingers very delicately to stroke mine".

Taki Theodoracopoulos Age 63. Outspoken socialite and columnist, writes column for the Spectator. Vocal supporter of General Pinochet and one-time backer of disgraced former Tory MP Neil Hamilton. Once described New York Puerto Ricans as "fat, squat, ugly, dusky, dirty and unbelievably loud. They turned Manhattan into Palermo faster than you can say spic." Then, he was defended by Black.

Barbara Amiel Age 60. Wife of Mr Black and occasional Telegraph contributer. Appears to have set off the current spat with a legendary article in the Daily Telegraph last November, in which she claimed Israel would never desecrate an Islamic holy site. Described by a former editor of the Tatler, Lucy Yeomans, as a woman who can"sit in the front row of the couture and then whip up 5,000 words on the Middle East crisis".

William Dalrymple Age 35. Travel writer and author. Has had run-ins with Black over the Middle East question before: Black claims Dalrymple was dropped as a Telegraph contributor after "inventing" a story of Israeli desecration of Christian sites in Palestine; Dalrymple says his claims, in the award-winning book From the Holy Mountain, have never seriously been challenged.